Author: Dolly Jun
Recently, a piece of news about some luxury car models replacing their suspension and some chassis components with plastic has caused a stir online. And they claim that this is for the purpose of vehicle lightweighting and can improve driving comfort and control.
Seeing this, I believe many netizens have laughed out loud, and we don’t want to discuss the “scientific” nature of this approach too much. Today, we will use a car introduced by an independent brand to vividly explain what driving comfort really is for luxury brands.
This car is the Voyah FREE.
Suspension and Experience
If we want to discuss the driving comfort of the Voyah FREE, we have to mention its suspension. In fact, when the Voyah FREE was launched, we were very curious and looking forward to its claim of a “million-level suspension”. After all, Voyah FREE is only a new energy vehicle with a price of more than 300,000 yuan, and it is a self-owned electric brand product. How can it be worth “millions”?
But when we learned more, it was not difficult to find that the most obvious embodiment of the million-level suspension of the Voyah FREE lies in the “suspension way”. Air suspension, as a traditional “luxury” criterion, used to only appear in luxury cars over 600,000 yuan. However, this time, the Voyah, a zero-worry high-end intelligent electric brand, can equip the Voyah FREE with air suspension, which costs only more than 300,000 yuan.
Moreover, the air suspension carried by the Voyah FREE can be adjusted up and down by 100mm. For example, when we want to get on and off the car, the chassis height can be lowered to the lowest of 113mm, making it convenient for users to get on and off the car. And when the speed reaches 5km/h or above, the vehicle height will return to its original height.
In addition, the Voyah FREE brings five driving modes: economic, comfortable, high-energy, suburban, and custom. Among them, the chassis height of the comfortable mode is 163mm, the high-energy mode is 133mm, and the suburban mode is 213mm, making the Voyah FREE capable of coping with various complex road conditions during outings.
To this point, some readers may ask whether the inconsistent height of the vehicle means that the suspension travel is different, and whether this will affect the driving quality of the vehicle. For non-air suspension models, we may feel slightly harder during solo driving and softer when the vehicle is fully loaded. However, for the Lynk & Co ZERO EV, the resonant frequency of the air suspension is fixed, ensuring that the suspension is at the best state and the softness and hardness remain consistent regardless of solo driving or full loading.
Of course, for air suspension, the smooth driving on full terrain is just one of its advantages. The primary manifestation of air suspension is in the driving and riding comfort of the vehicle. In this regard, the Lynk & Co ZERO EV has adopted the groundbreaking high-speed road adaptive adjustment. The air suspension of the Lynk & Co ZERO EV can be connected with navigation and positioning. When driving on highways (regardless of whether it is at service areas or in traffic jams), the air suspension will maintain the height of the high-energy mode, ensuring driving consistency.
Undeniably, air suspensions can bring us a sense of luxury and an excellent riding experience. However, we have to understand that the operating cost of ordinary air suspension is extremely high. We have seen too many cases of air suspension “bottoming out”. How does the Lynk & Co ZERO EV perform in this regard?
The answer is that there is no need to worry. The air suspension of the Lynk & Co ZERO EV is jointly developed by Lynk & Co and its partners. The development period lasted for 9 months and went through 150 different matching schemes, passing 70 rounds of extreme environmental tests. In the high and low temperature alternating endurance test, the air spring of the Lynk & Co ZERO EV vibrated up and down 5.6 million times, far exceeding the ordinary factory’s 3-3.6 million times. With just this, we can rest assured on the air suspension of the Lynk & Co ZERO EV.
Intelligent configuration is outstanding, creating a sense of ceremony that is exclusive to users.When it comes to new energy vehicle models, intelligent configuration has always been the focus. For many users, buying a new energy vehicle is not just about experiencing diversified travel options, but also about experiencing intelligent technology. The Voyah FREE not only brings users a superior driving experience, but also spares no effort in intelligent configuration.
The Voyah FREE series comes standard with an L2 level intelligent driving assistance system, which, with the help of 24 intelligent sensors, is capable of achieving 20 intelligent driving assistance functions such as ACC full-speed adaptive cruise control and LKA lane keeping assistance. Of course, for new energy vehicle models, the L2 level intelligent driving assistance system can only be considered an “entry-level” configuration in terms of intelligence.
Voyah is also well-versed in intelligent configuration and brings us a series of advanced configurations such as the APA fully automatic parking system, which can achieve automatic parking in the world’s most comprehensive scenarios, and the AVM360° panoramic imaging system with a transparent bottom. In terms of the transparent bottom configuration, it may be considered “superfluous” for most car models, but you should know that the Voyah FREE is a new energy vehicle with 5 driving modes and air suspension, and presenting the blind area image of the vehicle’s chassis in front of the user greatly improves the Voyah FREE’s driving safety in special road conditions.
In addition, the Voyah FREE is also equipped with a unique intelligent cockpit mode. When the user approaches the vehicle or unlocks it with the key, the welcome mode is activated, with the continuous wing-shaped light group automatically lit and the door handle popping out. Upon entering the vehicle, the FACE ID quickly recognizes the driver’s identity, adjusts the exclusive sitting posture, and identifies different fragrance atmospheres based on the driver’s facial emotions, accompanied by music. This is the exclusive sense of ceremony that the Voyah FREE has created for us.
Going back to the beginning of the article, some luxury brands reduce costs and ensure profits by cutting materials. In our view, if one really wants to ensure profits, wouldn’t it be more “direct” to simply cut luxury configurations? That’s right, reducing configurations has become a “tradition” in many luxury brand models because these configurations can be equated with profits in their eyes.
In the eyes of LandTour FREE, these luxury configurations are more like the basic configurations that a car should have. Specifically, LandTour FREE is equipped with a high-end Denon sound system with 10 speakers, a full-color range music lighting atmosphere lamp with free color adjustment, and a 12-way electrically adjustable memory seat with ventilation, heating, and massage functions. It is not an exaggeration to say that if these three configurations were included in some luxury brands, they would cost you an additional 30,000-50,000 yuan, and you definitely would not be able to leave the store if you didn’t choose them.
In addition, LandTour FREE is also equipped with an intelligent adjustable panoramic sunroof. When traveling on sunny days, not only can passengers enjoy a broad view, but they can also enjoy a highly private personal space. Of course, there is no need to worry about getting sunburned in the scorching summer because it has a UV-blocking rate of over 99%.
Doraemon says:
In fact, for the new energy vehicle market, it has long passed the “embryonic period” of comparing 0-100 km/h acceleration results, and has also passed the “development period” of comparing technological configurations. In our view, the current new energy market has entered a growth period, at which point new energy vehicles should return to the “essence” of driving quality.
We can also see that LandTour FREE has a significant advantage in both intelligent experience and performance, as well as the advanced feel of the overall driving quality. With the assistance of the air suspension, LandTour FREE has already possessed the strength to compete with higher-positioned vehicles. And this is exactly the strength and confidence that LandTour, as a central state-owned enterprise, should have.
It is worth mentioning that LandTour announced in late March that the price of LandTour FREE pure electric models will be increased by 10,000 yuan from May 1st, while the extended-range models will not be adjusted. For those who are still waiting and watching, hurry up and choose a LandTour FREE to enjoy life.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.